The Vietnamese government has announced that Belgian travellers will soon be allowed to visit Vietnam visa-free. In this way, Belgium will be joining the group of nationalities that can already visit the country for 45 days without having to apply for a visa.
More and more countries benefit from visa waiver
In the last few years, the Vietnamese government has gradually relaxed its visa policy, withdrawing visa requirements for more and more countries. Until 2023, citizens of some European countries, like Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, could stay in Vietnam without a visa for up to 15 days. In the summer of 2023, this visa-free stay period was increased from 15 to 45 days for nationals of those countries. The measure was initially intended to be in force until March 2025, but it was later extended until March 2028.
Not only the visa-free period has been extended to 45 days, several other countries have also been granted with a visa exemption in recent years. For instance, since 1 March 2025, nationals of Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic have also been allowed to travel to Vietnam without visa under certain conditions. On 2 April 2025, it was made known that Belgians will soon also be eligible for a visa-free stay in Vietnam of up to 45 days.
State visit in Vietnam
The news of the upcoming visa waiver for Belgians has been announced after the state visit of the Belgian royal couple to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, took the decision to grant the visa exemption to Belgian nationals during this visit, which had the aim of strengthening political ties between Belgium and the Southeast Asian country. The new agreement should make it easier for Belgian tourists and business travellers to visit the country. The visa waiver is not reciprocal, however. Vietnamese travellers will need a visa to travel to Belgium in the future.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot has stated that this is one of the most important achievements of the state visit. Although it is not yet known when the new rule will come into force for Belgians, the exact date will be announced soon, according to the Belgian foreign minister. If you have a Belgian passport and need to to travel to Vietnam at short notice, or if you want to stay in the country for more than 45 days, you can apply online for your Vietnam visa here.
Other nationalities still need a visa Vietnam
Although travellers from most European countries can already travel visa-free to Vietnam, a visa Vietnam is still required for a series of countries. This is, for example, the case of Dutch, Austrian and Irish travellers. They can easily apply online for a e-visa. For this, they can use the digital application form on this website. After completing the form, they need to provide an ID photo and a scan of their passport. The visa will then be granted after an average of 13 days and be sent by email.